Lee Humberg, district manager for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, is the man in charge of figuring out how to remove the flocks (群) of 15,000 to 20,000 Canada geese(大雁) that could strike planes flying in and out of the New York area. The Port Authority, the agency that manages airport in New York and New Jersey, estimates that there have been as many as 315 bird strikes annually in the past 30 years.
Bird strikes have been a hot topic since a US Airways jet suffered a “double strike” and made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in January 2009. All 155 passengers were rescued safely and the flight was called “Miracle on the Hudson”. The plane finally ended up at the Carolinas Aviation Museum. The next major bird strike may not have such a happy ending.
To thin the flocks, Humberg and his team have tracked down goose nests and killed eggs with corn oil. They’ve also terrified the birds with dogs, remote-controlled boats and kites that look like eagles. But the only method that effectively decreases the goose population is the one that angers animal lovers the most: gassing hundreds at a time.
“If all you are doing is goose harassment (骚扰) every day, it’s very frustrating, because you are just playing Ping-Pong with the birds,” Humberg told New York magazine. “It’s basically an arms race to come up with the tools to deal with them.”
Now New York City plans to send the geese captured to Pennsylvania to be cooked and distributed at food banks as meals for the poor. That might just be a fate better than flying into a 747 engine.
小题1:What can we learn form Humberg?
A．He does research on geese’s living conditions.
B．He makes efforts to protect wild birds.
C．He deals with the danger of birds at airports.
D．He tries to find newer and safer airlines.小题2:Why was the flight called “Miracle on the Hudson”?
A．It suffered a “double strike”.
B．It arrived at a plane museum.
C．It only caused a few deaths.
D．It succeeded in landing on a river.小题3:By saying “you are just playing Ping-Pong with the birds”, Humberg means ______.
A．It’s interesting to fight with the birds
B．It’s a skill-needed race against the birds
C．you can’t defeat the bird in the end
D．you should live with birds peacefully小题4:It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A．Canada geese can fly as high as planes
B．New York airlines are in poor management
C．bird strikes happen once a week on average
D．the poor may also benefit from Humberg’s work
小题1:C
小题2:D
小题3:B
小题4:D
文章讲述了鸟儿对美国的飞机造成的影响，以及人们准备如何处理这些鸟儿。
小题1:C 细节题。根据第一段2,3,4行the man in charge of figuring out how to remove the flocks (群) of 15,000 to 20,000 Canada geese(大雁) that could strike planes flying in and out of the New York area.说明他是一个负责赶走大雁，以免它们撞上飞机。故C正确。
小题2:D 推理题。根据文章第二段2,3行made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in January 2009. All 155 passengers were rescued safely说明撞击以后这架飞机迫降在哈德逊河上，乘客都被救起来了。没有造成伤亡，故称之为哈德逊河上的奇迹。故D正确。
小题3:B 推理题。这句话形象地说明了这些鸟儿对人们的生活造成的影响，说明要杀掉这些鸟儿是要靠技巧的，因为打乒乓球也需要技巧。故B正确。
小题4:D 推理题。根据最后一段1,2行plans to send the geese captured to Pennsylvania to be cooked and distributed at food banks as meals for the poor.说明人们准备把这些鸟儿杀掉做出食物给穷人当食品，故D正确。
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